This invention pertains generally to protective gear for a firefighter, rescue worker, or chemical worker or another wearer needing head protection and respiratory assistance. This invention pertains particularly to a face mask, a fitment, as discussed below, a head harness, and a protective hood, in a novel combination.
Commonly, a firefighter, rescue worker, or chemical worker or another wearer needing respiratory and head protection is required to wear a face mask secured removably to the wearer""s head, via a head harness, which is attached detachably to the face mask, via fasteners at or near an outer perimeter of the face mask. Commonly, a fitment is secured removably to the face mask. The fitment may be an element of a self-contained breathing apparatus, such as a regulator, or the fitment may be a respirator, to which an air filter is mounted.
Along with the face mask, the firefighter may be also required to wear a protective hood, which provides a fire-retardant, thermally insulative barrier protecting the wearer""s head, except for at least a portion of the wearer""s face where the face mask is worn, and protecting the wearer""s neck, and which is worn over the head harness and over at least part of an outer perimeter of a window portion of the face mask. As exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 6,266,828, U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,031, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,478,025, the disclosures of which patents are incorporated herein by reference, it is known for the protective hood to be detachably attached to the face mask.
For a firefighter, rescue worker, or chemical worker or another wearer needing head protection, this invention provides a face mask, a fitment, a head harness, and a protective hood, in a novel combination. The protective hood is adapted to cover the wearer""s head, except for a frontal region of the wearer""s head, when the protective hood is worn. The fitment is attached to the protective hood so as to situate the fitment below the frontal region of the wearer""s head, when the protective hood is worn. The head harness is attached to the face mask so as to secure the face mask to the wearer""s head, over the frontal region of the wearer""s head, when the face mask and the head harness are worn. The fitment is attached to the face mask.
Preferably, the fitment is attached detachably to the face mask so that a wearer can remove the face mask and the head harness, after detaching the fitment from the face mask, without having to detach the fitment from the protective hood. Preferably, the protective hood is not attached to the face mask or to the head harness, except via the fitment, as attached to the face mask.
Furthermore, this invention provides a novel method of preparing and donning a protective hood, a fitment, a face mask, and a head harness. As preliminary steps, the novel method comprises attaching the head harness to the face mask, attaching the fitment to the protective hood so as to situate the fitment below a frontal region of the wearer""s head, when the protective hood is worn, and attaching the fitment to the face mask. As subsequent steps, the novel method comprises donning the face mask and the head harness so as to secure the face mask to the wearer""s head and, thereupon, donning the protective hood so as to cover the wearer""s head, except for the frontal region of the wearer""s head.